The basic components for encoding drama are quite
straightforward, and match the obvious features of most dramatic
texts. We give an overview here, with pointers to more detailed
discussion of specific features and problems.

In the TEI, dramatic acts and scenes (if present) are encoded using
div type="act" and div type="scene". This allows
you to encode whatever structure is actually present: if the drama has
acts but no scene subdivisions, use only div type="act"; if
the drama has only scenes, use div type="scene". A play
with no internal subdivisions would be encoded simply as text
without any internal div elements. The act and scene
numbering may be encoded on the n attribute of div (see
examples). You may choose to reproduce the numbering scheme of the
source (e.g. use of roman and arabic numerals), or to regularize
it. If there are errors in the act or scene numbering, the n
attribute should carry a corrected value.

Within these subdivisions, speeches are encoded with
sp. The sp element carries a who attribute which
identifies the person speaking. Speeches may be in prose (in which
case they contain paragraphs) or in verse (in which case they contain
lines of verse, or line groups). For more detail, see the entry on speakers.

Speaker labels, which indicate who is speaking, are encoded with
speaker, typically as the first child of sp.

Stage directions are encoded with stage. If you want to
categorize different types of stage directions (entrances, exits,
business, etc.) for analysis, you can do so with the type
attribute. For more detail, see stage directions and The type attribute of stage.

Cast lists are encoded with castList, which is essentially
a special type of list: it consists of a series of castItem
elements, each of which groups together a role and a
roleDesc to capture the name of the role and the accompanying
description. For more detail, see cast lists and cast list special
cases.